Machine gun



Apzrifi 114, 1936. c. A. LARSSON ET AL 2,637,244

MACHINE GUN Filed July 10, 1934 Sheets-Sheet l m VENTO K WWW ATTORNEY April! 14, 193% Q LARSSON ET AL ED37244- MACHINE GUN Filed July 10, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 14, 1936 UNHTED STATES PATENT OFFICE MACHINE GUN British company Application July 10, 1934, Serial No. 734,484 In Great Britain July 19, 1933 '7 Claims.

This invention relates to machine guns and is more particularly although not essentially concerned with machine guns of the Vickers type. Machine guns are frequently provided on aircraft one on each side of an operator so that one of the guns is fed from the left-hand side and the other from the right-hand side. The main object of the present invention is to enable a gun to be readily adjustable to feed from either side.

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect the same will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:-

Figure 1 is a side view of a feed box and feed mechanism made in accordance with the invention, a part of the gun barrel being shown;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the arrangement shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an underneath plan view of the feed slide and parts attached thereto;

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 on Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a sectional View on the line 6-45 on Figure 2;

Figure 7 is an end elevation of the cartridge guide and stop;

Figures 8 and 9 are plan views partly in section and with certain parts removed to show the connection between the recoiling barrel and the feed slide operating levers.

A indicates the feed box which is substantially symmetrical about its longitudinal median line. B indicates the feed slide which is slidably mounted in guideways in the feed box and which can be inserted in either side of the feed box. The feed pawl D is pivotally mounted on the feed slide by a pivot pin 01 which projects at each side of the slide to engage in an aperture in the upper end of the double feed preventing pawl E. The feed pawl D carries a pin d which pro-- jects at each side of the feed pawl to engage in another aperture in the double feed preventing pawl E. The slide carries a plate spring F which presses the feed pawl and double feed preventing pawl downwardly. The feed pawl is provided with a finger piece D Retaining pawls are provided for engaging the cartridge which is next to be moved into the extracting position so as to prevent the cartridge belt from slipping out of the box when the front cartridge is extracted. A cartridge in the extracting position is indicated in broken lines in Figure 5. The retaining pawls are duplicated; one pair F being pivoted to the feed box by two screws 1 and being connected together by a finger bar I and the other pair F being pivoted to the feed box by similar screws and being connected to each other by a finger bar f Springs f and hold the retaining pawls resiliently in their normal positions shown in Figure 6, but yield under finger pressure on the bars f f so that the pawls F F can be moved out of the path of the feed slide to permit removal of the slide from the feed box. The springs also yield to permit movement of the pawls by pressure of the cartridges thereon during feeding, the pawls being pushed up by the cartridges to permit the cartridges to pass beneath them. The

cartridge guide and stop H is bifurcated at one 1 end it to receive the cartridge and has two apertures 71 W, the former to receive a pivot pin 7' and the latter to receive a. pin 71, the pivot pin a can be engaged in either of two holes 7' 7' in the feed box. The pin k can be engaged in one 1 or other of the two holes M, 71. in the feed box. The pin h has a recess or annular groove (not shown) to receive the adjacent part of the pin f or f which protrudes into the holes 71 71. Slots H (Figure 6) are formed in the cartridge guide and stop H one of which slots receives one of the pawls F in the position of the parts shown in Figure 6, and the other of which receives one of the pawls F when the parts are reversed. A bullet stop pin K can be fitted in one or other of two holes k, R in the feed box. The pin 7' carries the lower feed slide operating lever J which has a projection J engaging in a slot in the top of the recoiling barrel L. The upper end of the pivot j is reduced to engage an aperture in the upper feed slide operating lever J which has a pin J that engages a slot J in the feed slide. The lever J and pin 7' are held together by a removable spring pin d If the apparatus is arranged for right-hand feeding and is required to be converted for lefthand feed, the following parts are removed in the order enumerated, viz., pin 7' pin 7, lever J the sliding parts shown in Figure 4 comprising the feed slide and parts attached thereto, pin n cartridge guide and stop H, bullet stop K and double feed preventing pawl E. The parts are then reassembled. The double feed preventing pawl E is assembled on the opposite ends of the pins d, al a through said opening, without removing the feed 7 box or any part of the feed mechanism.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine gun feed box and feed mechanism having a reversible feed slide, reversible-feed-slide operating levers, a pivot pin on which said levels are mounted, the feed box having two apertures disposed on opposite sides of a line drawn longi tudinally of the machine gun and each adapted to receive said pivot pin and to correctly locate the said levers for feeding from the right hand and from the left hand, said levers being adapted for right hand and left hand feed when located by the pin in the respective apertures without reversing of the feed box on the machine gun.

2. A machine gun feed box and feed mechanism as in claim 1 having a reversible cartridge case guide and stop, and wherein the said pivot pin passes through the reversible cartridge case guide and stop for holding the latter in position.

3. A machine gun feed box and feed mechanism as in claim 1, in which the feed box has two further holes in it, a reversible cartridge case guide and stop, and another pin which passes through the cartridge case guide and stop and can be engaged in either of said two further holes.

4. A machine gun feed box and feed mechanism as in claim 1 having a pin comprising a bullet stop, and the feed box having two further holes in it on opposite sides of said longitudinal line and in such positions that said pin can be engaged in either of said further two holes so that it can be disposed for right hand feed and left hand feed.

5., A machine gun feed box and feed mechanism as in claim 1 having retaining pawl means mounted on one side of the feed box for right hand feeding, other retaining pawl means mounted on the opposite side of the feed box for left hand feeding, means for holding both said means resiliently in their normal positions in which they retain the cartridges against backward movement and adapted to be actuated by hand and serving to move both said retaining means into positions clear of the feed slide so that the latter can be removed without taking said retaining means off the feed box.

6. A machine gun recoiling barrel and feed mechanism the feed mechanism having a movable part, a projection on said movable part of the feed mechanism, said projection having an opening therethrough in the direction of the axis of the barrel, an abutment fixed on to the barrel which abutment engages saidprojection'for imparting movement to the feed mechanism, said projection being movable into a position where it is opposite to said opening whereupon the barrel can be withdrawn without removing the said movable part from the machine gun. a

'7. A machine gun recoiling barrel and feed mechanism, the feed mechanism having two feed levers reversible for right and left hand feed, a projection on the lower of these feed levers, two abutments fixed on to the barrel and an opening between the abutments, said abutments engaging the said projection for rightand left hand feeding and imparting feed movements thereto, the lower lever being movable into a position in which the projection is opposite to said opening whereupon the barrel can be withdrawn without removing the said feed levers from the machine gun.

CARL ALFRED LARSSON. PERCY REUBEN HIGSON. 

